Academ's Fury

Codex Alera, Book 2

By: Jim Butcher

Narrated by: Kate Reading

In Furies of Calderon, #1 New York Times bestselling author Jim Butcher introduced readers to a world where the forces of nature take physical form. But now, it is human nature that threatens to throw the realm into chaos…

For centuries, the people of Alera have harnessed the furies—elementals of earth, air, fire, water, wood, and metal—to protect their land from aggressors. But no fury can save them from the dangers they face within. A mysterious attack from across the sea has weakened the First Lord. Should he fall, a bloody civil war is inevitable. The responsibility of fending off assassination attempts and treachery within the First Lord’s circle of spies falls on Tavi, the one man with no fury to call...©2006 Jim Butcher; (P)2008 Penguin Audiobooks

Critic reviews

“High adventure with engaging characters and a satisfying conclusion.”—Locus

“A fun romp of a book...the action is fast and furious.”—SFRevu

“[A] cleverly constructed world.”—Chronicle

“Solid world-building, intriguing characters and vivid action make this a solid addition to a marvelously entertaining series.”—Publishers Weekly

“The author of the Dresden Files series demonstrates his skill with epic fantasy...A fresh approach to magic and a cast of appealing characters make this an exciting read.”—Library Journal

“A fine coming-of-age, fantasy-action novel. The characterizations are excellent, and the plotting is very well developed.”—Booklist

“Jim Butcher is a brilliant world-builder.”—Midwest Book Review

Solid Follow-Up to Book 1

Academ's Fury picks up about two years after the conclusion of the previous book, Furies of Calderon. Our hero, Tavi, is now a student at Hogw--oops! Um--at the Academy in Alera Imperia. Along with his new position as the High Lord's page, Tavi is making new friends and new enemies right and left. There's treason in the air and assassins around every corner. Meanwhile, back in Calderon Valley, the nastiest enemy of all is taking root. Not the strongest book in the series but not the weakest either. I love Jim Butcher and I enjoy his style--warts and all--and this book certainly does nothing to change that. It introduces some great characters who will play important roles in the books to come, so it is a must-read for that reason alone. Some events feel a bit contrived, and there are plenty of Harry Potter parallels; don't let any of that dissuade you. Lot's of fun to be had here, so I suggest you ignore the minor bumps in the road and just enjoy the ride.

Getting better, and getting worse.

Story has gotten better. Horns are very annoying. Chapter 50 seams to have been fixed.

Much better than the first one!

I enjoyed this book a lot more than the first one there were no weird cuts and hard stops with the reading and I found the story more engaging than the first book I am glad I read the reviews and continued the series it was worth it and I hope it continues in the same way.

Best series yet

Listened to all four and best I've heard. Jim Butcher did a great job developing characters and creating a world you can get lost in. Kate Reading is almost as good as the person who reads Harry Potter and through her voice enhances Butcher's characters. I tried Butcher's Dresden series but couldn't handle the Reader (he sniffs too much) so I will read that series because I trust Butcher not to disappoint. Unlike so many series, Codex Alera doesn't get tedious or gimmicky after the third book; it just gets better.

loved the book

My only issue is that when the producer or someone wanted to build suspense, they played a 10 second sound byte of trumpet fanfare. The same fanfare. Sometimes they played it in really odd places too.